Google has claimed that its social network Google+ has more than 170m members worldwide, as the service relaunches with a new look offering improved navigation and simpler ways to share and discover content.

The revamp, which rolled out today, includes new drag-and-drop elements and actions triggered when hovering the cursor over an item.

Many of the new features are designed to make it easier to discover content and conversations, while profile pages have been refreshed with bigger photos, and Hangouts, Google's multi-person video chat system, now has a dedicated page.

In a blog post today, Google senior vice president Vic Gundotra said that the changes to Google+ are designed to make it more "functional and flexible", and it is also part of plans to create a simpler, more beautiful Google.

Google+ came out of beta last September and Google claims that it now has 170m members.

At Google's results, chief executive Larry Page said that the network has 100m 'active' users, typically viewed as those who log in at least once a month, but there have been doubts over how much time people actually spend on the site.

A report earlier in the year suggested that Google+ users spend just three minutes a month on the network, compared to six or seven hours for market leader Facebook.

The redesign is clearly intended to encourage people to spend more time on Google+, not just using it as a social hub, but also a place to consume content.

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Navigation on Google+ has now been tweaked so that instead of static icons at the top, there is a "dynamic ribbon" of applications on the left-hand side.

Google said that the perks of this approach includes being able to drag apps up or down to create the order you want, while hovering over apps now reveals a set of quick link actions. Users can show or hide the apps by moving them in or out of the "More" tab.

The navigation ribbon has also been built with the future in mind, in that additional features can be added as Google introduces them.

Following the update, users will see that full-bleed videos and photos have been introduced as a way to make people 'really proud to post', as Google says it.

A stream of conversation "cards" is intended to make it easier to scan and join discussions, while an activity drawer highlights the community around each user's content.

Google hopes that these features will make sharing "more awesome" by also making it "more evocative", saying it is like the "feeling you get when a piece of art takes your breath away, or when a friend stops by with unexpected gifts".

Video conference call system Hangouts now has a new home in a dedicated page offering various features, including an always updated list of invitations from people within each user's Circles.

Quick access to every public and on-air hangout has been incorporated, primarily for people wanting to meet someone new, or watch a live broadcast, while a rotating billboard highlights the most popular hangouts at any one time.

Elsewhere, a new Explore page has also been introduced to Google+ showing what is most interesting and trending across the network.

"We're rolling out all of these improvements over the next few days, so please check back if you don't see them yet," said Gundotra.

"By focusing on you, the people you care about, and the stuff you're into, we're going to continue upgrading all the features you already know and love - from Search and Maps to Gmail and YouTube. With today's foundational changes we can move even faster - toward a simpler, more beautiful Google."